Looking at the seven churches

Well, it was quite a whirlwind to get through those seven churches last week!  Here is a basic outline of each letter below.  If you are trying to tackle this on your own, these basic points give you a foundation to start from:
o    Address to an angel
•    There is an individual and corporate understanding here.  John sees angels as representative body of people.  In Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1, Michael is seen as the guardian angel of Israel but other nations have similar representative angels, too (Daniel 10:20).
o    Name of a city
•    “The order of the seven churches forms a circular route that begins in Ephesus, likely following a Roman postal route.  The revelation of Jesus Christ, though it has universal application, still addresses local needs and concerns.” (26)
o    Prophetic messenger formula
•    “Thus says the Lord…”
•     John is using this formula and these four words to highlight that these are the words of Jesus, the Lord, in his vision.
o    Christological ascription
•    “It is not just a matter of where are you from but whom you are connected with.  The recipients are more than residents of particular cities.  They are the Lord’s (which is the meaning of kyriakos, “church”).
•    Remember that Christ stood among the seven lampstands thus signifying that he was and is among them.  This is important to remember as the people connect their identity directly to their faith.
o    Divine knowledge
•    Christ illustrates (as said above) that he is among their communities and therefore knows what is going on.  He knows what is going well but also the ways that these congregations struggle.
o    Body of letter: affirmation and correction
o    Universal call to listen and obey (“Let anyone who has an ear…”)
•    What is said to one church applies to all churches.
o    Eschatological promise to those who conquer
•    There is a theme that connects each of the churches: life eternal and abundant.
•    The church should hold onto what is good in the communities.  The affirmations should not be taken lightly.
•    We observe the promise that we have through God.  This is the thing that keeps us encouraged and sustains us on the journey.
•    Therefore, even in the blessings and trials of faith, we are striving to conquer.

There are a lot of culture references within the text that you may not be able to pick up on your own.  Still, I encourage you to look at each letter and think about the overarching promise.  These promises stand true for us today as well!  Ask yourself, what can we learn from these seven letters to the churches?

If you were going to write a letter to Lake View Presbyterian Church, what would you write?